Islamic State is winning the digital war against the West, says expert

Islamic State is winning the digital war against the West because its foes are failing to counter extremist propaganda or highlight fallacies in the terror group’s narratives, a leading British counter-terrorism expert says.

Haras Rafiq, head of the
UK government-funded Quilliam Foundation, said renewed efforts to
challenge Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), propaganda are
required.

He warned a failure to do so would allow extremist narratives to
ferment and spread online, aiding radicalization in the process.

The Quilliam Foundation chief made the comments on Thursday at a
counter-terrorism seminar in London organized by the consultancy
group Albany Associates.

Following the Charlie Hebdo attack in January, the French
government also sought to beef up its digital response to the
jihadist group.

Officials in Paris released a graphic video, which used the
hashtag #StopJihadism in a bid to discourage young French Muslims
from pledging allegiance to Islamic State.

The Quilliam Foundation has released a campaign of its own to
tackle IS propaganda called “Counter Extremism
Together.” As part of this process, it hopes to raise
£25,000.

The project specifically seeks to tackle extremist ideology
spread though the medium of film.

Quilliam plans to produce three counter-narrative films in an
effort to build resilience against extremism.

“More and more people around the world are joining terrorist
groups such as Islamic State, killing innocent people, promoting
hatred and adding to the misery of the Syrian people,” the
think tank said.

“Together as a society, with people from all backgrounds,
religious denominations and political leanings, we can fight back
against this hatred.”